World Cup 2026 pages
Sports · World Cup 2026 · Group D
USAvs
Paraguay
4–1
Full time · Friday, June 12, 2026 · 9:00 p.m. ET · Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium), Inglewood, CA
Result
The United States opened its home World Cup with the kind of result it was built for — three goals up by half time and never seriously threatened. Damián Bobadilla turned an early USA cross into his own net in the seventh minute, and Folarin Balogun added two before the break: slid in by Christian Pulisic on 31, then a cut inside and a finish into the top-left corner in first-half stoppage time. Mauricio Pochettino withdrew Pulisic at the interval, and Maurício pulled one back for Paraguay on 73 — finishing a Julio Enciso pass after a Tyler Adams giveaway — before substitute Giovanni Reyna restored the four-goal margin in the eighth minute of stoppage time, set up by Malik Tillman.
USA 5-3-24-3-3 ParaguayUSASubstitutions
At this Stage
Group D's first lap produced two winners and a surprise about who suffered most. The USA's four-goal opening at SoFi puts the hosts first on goal difference, +3 to Australia's +2, after the Socceroos beat Türkiye 2-0 for the round's other three points. The bottom half is where the eyebrows belong: Paraguay arrived unbeaten in eight with wins over Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay inside that run, and one evening later own the group's worst goal difference, beneath even a Türkiye side that lost without scoring. One matchday is a mood, not a verdict, and moods change fast in a four-team group — but the hosts wanted a statement start to a home World Cup, and the table says they made one.
Group D
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 3 |
 Australia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
 Türkiye | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Paraguay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 0 |
Top two (above the accent line) advance to the round of 32; the third-placed team is in the race for one of the eight best-third spots.
What we know now
Venue: Los Angeles Stadium
Attendance: 70,492
Watch: FOX in English and Telemundo in Spanish — and streaming free on Tubi, FOX's ad-supported service; Peacock carries the Spanish feed.
Watched by: 25M in the US
What I said beforehand
The preview, frozen at kickoff. Clearly dated, never rewritten — that's the deal that makes the predictions worth anything.
USA win, by less than the building expects. Paraguay arrive unbeaten in eight with wins over Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay inside that run, and Gustavo Alfaro's mid-block exists to make vertical teams look ordinary for an hour. But the US carry the two best one-on-one weapons on the field — Pulisic between the lines and Antonee Robinson at full gallop — SoFi's canopy keeps the conditions sterile, and teams built for a deep home run usually survive night one. USA 2–1, and not comfortable until late.
My locked pick: USA win ✓ RIGHT
“Co-host at SoFi with Pulisic in his prime years against Paraguay's low block; a narrow home win on sustained pressure.”
Locked 2026-06-11 21:01 UTC — rendered verbatim from the pick ledger; never a fresher, hedged version
The case for USA
53.1% to winA home World Cup opener at SoFi with the most talented forward group the program has had: Pulisic between the lines, Balogun in behind, Tillman arriving late. Paraguay will sit in a mid-block, and the US carry the two players best equipped to break one — Pulisic's receiving angles and Antonee Robinson's overlaps at full speed. The 1930 head-to-head (Bert Patenaude's hat-trick, the World Cup's first ever) is trivia; the pressure is not. This is the kind of opener a team built for a deep home run is supposed to win, and mostly does.
The case for Paraguay
20.7% to winParaguay arrive unbeaten in eight with wins over Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay inside that run — Gustavo Alfaro's mid-block simply doesn't give up the chances a vertical team wants. Cubas and Bobadilla screen the back four, captain Gustavo Gómez organizes it, Sanabria led their qualifying scoring, and the set-piece threat travels anywhere. Pochettino has cycled three formations across his last three matches; a settled, disciplined side punishing an unsettled one is the oldest upset shape in the sport.
Both cases written 2026-06-11, before kickoff — they freeze into the record exactly as written, however the match goes. The percentages are mine, quoted to a decimal because false precision is funnier — the unclaimed 26.2% belongs to the draw.
Storylines
- The US men open a home World Cup for the first time since 1994 — against the one CONMEBOL side nobody wanted from pot three: Paraguay are unbeaten in eight, beating Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay along the way.
- Pochettino has used three different formations in his last three matches (3-4-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3); matchday projections point to a back three with Ream in it, but the teamsheet tonight is the only real answer.
- The only previous World Cup meeting was 1930, when Bert Patenaude scored the World Cup's first-ever hat-trick in a 3-0 US win.
- Julio Enciso's quadriceps is the visitors' biggest question — Paraguay's creative ceiling drops a tier without him between the lines.
The coaches
Mauricio Pochettino USA
In charge since 2024 with a mandate measured in knockout rounds; aggressive full-backs, a high line, and — three warm-ups in three shapes — a formation still officially undecided.
Gustavo Alfaro Paraguay
Veteran of exactly this job — organizing unfancied CONMEBOL sides into knockout teams; compact mid-block, quick transitions, dead-ball rehearsals.
Availability
| Chris Richards | Likely out of the XI — only recently back in full team training after an ankle layoff; Ream slots into the back three | Sports Illustrated |
| Julio Enciso | Expected to start — the quad knock from the Nicaragua friendly has eased to only slight concern | Sports Illustrated |
| Damián Bobadilla | Available — back in full training after managing a knee issue | RotoWire |
Availability drifts hourly in tournament week — every row carries its source and date for exactly that reason.
Weather: Roof, effectively: SoFi's fixed translucent canopy keeps the weather out of play — the marine-layer evening outside is for the concourses, not the pitch. (Venue configuration (SoFi canopy), as of 2026-06-11)
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands). Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain) on VAR; assistants Hessel Steegstra and Jan de Vries (Netherlands). (FIFA appointments via Yahoo Sports / SI matchday listing, as of 2026-06-12)
Venue: Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium), Inglewood, CA, United States — FIFA strips sponsor names for the tournament; the everyday name is in parentheses.